Israel Works to Combat Homegrown Islamic State Threat

USA Today writes: JALJULIA, Israel — Israeli authorities are increasing security measures in Arab communities as a growing number of Muslims are signing up to fight for the Islamic State across Israel’s northern border with Syria.

The Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, estimates that 50 Israeli Arabs have joined the civil war in Syria or are fighting in Iraq, and more may do so soon. The worry, as in Western countries, is that these fighters with the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, will return home to commit terrorist acts.

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“ISIS recruits from Israel were not regarded as a problem a year ago, but the security establishment sees them as a concerning trend,” said Boaz Ganor, director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.